Salt therapy is no longer a treatment used only for people. Wellington's Equine Salt Spa, owned by Salt Cave, UK, has a new salt treatment for horses that's meant to help them breathe, relax and perform better.

"I always wanted to use this therapy for horses over there [United Kingdom], I just never found the time," Equine Salt Spa owner Sofia Benke said. "When we moved I said to my husband, 'I think this is the right time and place to do it, so let's do it now.'"

The new salt therapy treatment takes 30 minutes and is designed to reduce inflammation, kill bacteria and break up mucus, according to Benke.

"It's beneficial if the horse has any breathing issues, skin conditions, and also if the horse is healthy; it's a great prevention," she said.

"Our horses can't wait to get loaded into the trailer and munch on hay as they listen to Enya and receive their salt therapy," Dr. Cesar Parra said. "They come off relaxed and ready to perform."

Instead of clients bringing their horses to the spa, Benke and her team come to the horses, whether it be at a barn or horse show, in their custom built horse trailer. The horses are loaded into the air-conditioned trailer for their session and listen to relaxing music while fine salty, dry air is pumped into the compartment.

"The horses seem to love it," Benke said. "The more salt you put in the more they seem to love it."

There was some concern from clients when Benke first started her operations as they didn't understand how the salt therapy would work.

"Some clients think we have water tanks but it's much more simple than that," Benke said. "There's no water in there."

"Their mobile unit makes it convenient with our busy show schedule," Dr. Parra said. "The benefits of the salt therapy is well worth the 30-minute sessions."

And Benke has big plans for the business

"The long term goal is to lease out the medical device and install it in barns so they can use it themselves," Benke said. "Right now we are limited. We only have the one trailer."

They mostly treat dressage and hunter/jumper horses but said Benke has plans to go to Miami and treat race horses when the season is over.

Visit equinesaltspa.com or call 561-766-7076 to schedule an appointment.